Neither is the US population. Let's compare apples to apples for a minute. WA + OR ~= Sweden: WA+OR population: 10.6 m, size: 170,000 sq mi Sweden population: 9

Neither is the US population. Let's compare apples to apples for a minute. WA + OR ~= Sweden: WA+OR population: 10.6 m, size: 170,000 sq mi Sweden population: 9.5 m, size: 173,860 sq mi Now, I think that's a pretty fair comparison. The roads can be pretty terrible in Washington and Oregon from my experience. That may be because federal money for roads goes to other less dense states, but these proportions hold up fairly well nationwide too. I think it's just a matter of less public funding, it's that simple.